NEW DEAL LIONS

When Ron Mayo arrived at his alma mater prior to the 1997 season, New Deal was in the midst of a 10-year playoff drought.
He leaves 17 years later as one of the South Plains most consistently winning programs and perennial playoff contender. On Monday, Mayo announced his retirement from coaching effective and the end of the week to go into private business, a decision that wasn’t really on his mind before the Lions lost to Stamford in the regional finals on Dec. 9.

As a three-year varsity letterwinner, McKenzie Hockenberry has had plenty of examples from which to build on her vision of senior leadership.
“My freshman year on varsity, we had several girls that were like my role models who helped me see what I needed to do and how to do it,” Hockenberry said. “I think that’s how I understand what it takes.”
Now that she’s a senior, it’s Hockenberry’s turn to be the leader for the New Deal girls basketball team, and so far, it’s working pretty well.